


Plants

by saltylikecrait



Series: The Time Between [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Missions Gone Wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-10-25 18:01:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17730017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltylikecrait/pseuds/saltylikecrait
Summary: It was another trap to lure Rey into the sights of the First Order...





	Plants

**Author's Note:**

> For this week's Finnrey Friday.

The mission turned out to be a wild goose chase and now Finn, Rey, Poe, and joined today by Jessika Pava wandered through a lush jungle as they were positively fuming with anger.

Another trap to lure Rey into the hands of the First Order now that they were all hell-bent on killing her. She _did_ murder Supreme Leader Snoke – Supreme Leader Ren announced it himself, he couldn’t be lying about that. She’s a Jedi. The enemy. This time, they burned an entire village to the ground, hoping the pain and agony of the villagers would capture her attention, which, of course it did.

Luckily, Finn knew the First Order and their tactics better than anyone else and there already had been too many close calls for Rey. He could tell something was up the moment Rey told the Resistance that she sensed a problem. The village had no prior alliance or connection with them and they wouldn’t just go in to a place that didn’t serve a purpose to them. Unless they were interested in the potential for logging or the Spice Trade on the world – which Finn knew they didn’t – there was no reason for them to be there. They possessed nothing that the First Order wanted.

And that tipped him off to two things. One, the First Order had figured out that the Resistance was somewhere close by to this world and, two, they were betting on the goodness of Rey’s heart to want to help others.

Still, it hurt him to see her in so much agony when the massacre happened. Drifting in space, it started with Rey clutching at her head and pacing up and down the corridors of the _Falcon._ Then she panicked – something that was very much not like Rey – and kept begging Poe and Chewbacca to land them on the world they were orbiting.

Finn did not envy her for having a strong grasp on the Force now. Ever since she threw herself into the Jedi texts and teachings, her abilities grew by the tenfold. It was amazing to watch her wield this power, but things like this made him realize that being a Jedi really didn’t seem all that great. It worried him, actually. Rey’s heart was always in the right place, but he wondered if in a dire situation that she would forget her head and follow her emotions instead. Just the thought made Finn want to clutch at his panicked heart. He wasn’t sure what he would do if suddenly Rey ran off to save the day with no planning - probably run after her, he realized after a moment. He didn’t want to think about a world where Rey no longer existed...

When she turned to him with pleading eyes, silently begging him to help her, Finn’s resolve weakened. He warned her of his suspicions, but she insisted that they wouldn’t run straight into the area. Instead, she just wanted to check things out before she jumped in to try to save the day.

It turned out that there was no one alive to save. Stormtroopers surrounded the area, and hacking into their comms confirmed that the First Order had just slaughtered a village hoping that they would lure out a single woman. The Supreme Leader commanded it.

If he ever met Ren face to face again, he might not need the Force or a lightsaber to cut him down. Maybe Finn’s anger and rage would be enough to run him straight through and bring an end to all of this.

But he also couldn’t quite imagine how Rey must have felt…

She had said nothing since they ran off from their cliff side perch to view the remains of the village. Instead, she hung her head and silently followed behind Jess, clutching her saber in her hand as she held her arm limply against her side. He wondered if she would be crying now if no one else was with her.

He wished that he had a better idea of how to help her. If it were tactics and strategy, Finn would be comfortable in giving advice. This was a matter of the Force and the heart, something he was not sure he quite understood.

“I think we should stop to rest,” Poe announced. He glanced at Rey and frowned. Finn guessed that he was thinking something similar about her mental state at the moment.

Jess nodded. “We can try to have BB-8 and CB-23 land nearby. I don’t think we should stick around here much longer.”

They looked to Finn as he tried to patch his comm up to connect with the _Millennium Falcon,_ shaking his head when he had no luck.

Jess glanced around. “These trees might be interfering with the signal,” she observed before gazing at Poe. “Think Bee could try for us?”

“It’s worth a shot,” Poe answered. “We’re not leaving until these two are safe on the _Falcon.”_

When Rey slumped herself against a thick trunk of a nearby tree, Finn found that he couldn’t help but mirror her and stay close to her. He didn’t know what to say to her to make this better, and he realized that words could not fix this mess. From the looks of their faces, Poe and Jess had noticed Rey's mood and were concerned about her, yet they opted to say nothing before they left.

So he sat with her. That was all he could figure out to do.

Jess and Poe moved a little more into the open while they tried to reach Chewbacca back on the _Falcon._ The jungle was just too thick and it was affecting their reception.

And that left Finn and Rey alone, silent and still.

Rey reached for her canteen and lifted it to her lips. Drops of water dotted along the side of her lips. Then, she returned to her silence, staring at nothing in particular.

Finn said nothing, but eventually, Rey leaned herself against him.

“I used to think that if you were lucky enough to live in a place like this, full of plants and water, you had nothing to worry about,” she told him. “I couldn’t have been more wrong.”

He placed his hand on her arm. “You wouldn’t have known,” he reassured her. “You never knew anything other than Jakku.”

She sighed. “I suppose so. But now, simply because I exist, people are dying.”

“That has _nothing_ to do with you,” Finn growled. “The First Order did that. They did not care if those people died for nothing. They just wanted to see if they could lure you out.”

“And it worked…”

“They don’t know that,” Finn pointed out. “I doubt they will do it again.” But even he doubted those words. He had no idea what the First Order would do now that Kylo Ren was running the show. It was possible he was worse than Snoke.

Then, he spotted something just out of reach. Vibrant and violet, he turned his head to admire a flower situated just at the base of the tree to his left. He pointed to it.

Rey glanced over in the direction he was pointing to. She sighed. “It’s lovely.”

“Do you want to take it back with us?”

After a moment of thought, she shook her head against him. “It’ll die, won’t it? That’s too much death for one day. It deserves to live here and grow and spread its seeds. More lovely flowers.”

That last part was whispered by her, but Finn understood her sentiment.

In silence, they sat close to each other, admiring the flora and finding comfort in each other.


End file.
